Wednesday, December 19, 2007

"A Tsar is Born"

TIME's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor. It is not an endorsement. It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership.

By that standard how well has the Time Man of the Year been chosen? Here's
the list from the World
War 2 years, and it's not bad.

South America this year experienced one of its coldest winters in decades. In Buenos Aires, snow fell for the first time since the year 1918. Dozens of homeless people died from exposure. In Peru, 200 people died from the cold and thousands more became infected with respiratory diseases. Crops failed, livestock perished, and the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency.

Thanks, Francine for the link to David Deming's Washington Times Article "Global Cooling."

Anyone care to hazard a guess as to whether any of his astounding statistical points will be picked up by the alleged Mainstream Media?

Years ago I had to conclude that the AMSM (alleged msm) is in the thrall of its own delusions, and cannot be trusted to report ANYTHING accurately. If you want to know what's going on in the world, you can probably get a reasonably reliable weather report for a few days out, or local traffic conditions as they were within the last two or three hours, from your local TV news station, but I wouldn't place my confidence in them for much else.

So, what else is new?

Hey! I also notice that the Washington Times has a huge selection of slideshows w audio and videos on a mess of different subjects. I'll have to start spending more time over there.

It seems like the Times is openly admitting that they do not believe in an American's power to change the world for the better, while they do believe in a Russian's ability to change the world for the worst.

I think Petraeus would have been the right choice, but you can make the case that Bush - the lame duck who has stymied congress and gotten his own way, and who dared to stare down the Kyoto treaty could have been named.

Mad Fiddler, did you notice over the last few years how the language has shifted from "global warming" to "climate change" ? That way they can cover all the bases and still get their social engineering pushed through.

Brittany may sicken people, but that's a far cry from being able to transport TIME back in time to the glorius Glory Days of the KGB.For Putin, not a problem.---And there is plenty of circumstantial evidence linking Russian spetzsluzhba (special services) in political "hits" using poison:

In 2003, Yuri Shchekochkin, a journalist and Kremlin critic, died of an "allergic reaction" that was likely a deliberate poisoning.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of Putin and the war in Chechnya, fell mysteriously ill while flying to negotiate the release of Beslan schoolchildren being held by Chechen terrorists in 2004. (She was ultimately gunned down in Moscow in October.)

Also in 2004, pro-West Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushenko, running against pro-Kremlin candidate Viktor Yanukovich, was poisoned by suspected dioxins, making him ill and leaving his face severely disfigured.And now Litvinenko - a KGB/FSB veteran whose investigations of corruption in Russia reportedly made a lot of enemies among his comrades, the siloviki and the Russian mafia - dies a painful death from ingesting a highly toxic radioactive isotope.

Given the number of 'global warming is all humanities fault' supporters who were 'global cooling is all humanities fault' supporters when that was fashionable (early 80's, there were novels, movies, scholarly articles in among other Playboy) why is anyone surprised?

The Earths climate changes. Note the fact that there is fossilised coral 100 MILES from the south pole. And no, Antarctica never drifted far enough north to account for it with today's climate.

Note the fact that sea levels were 450 feet lower 18,000 years ago, and Syria was wet enough to export Hippopotomus ivory in Roman times.

All of this was taught in high school science classes not long ago. The Earth will get hotter or colder than it is now, it has been both many times before. That again is not controversial, it is covered in first year geology courses.

The one thing this planet will NOT do is stay one temperature for long. It never has and it never will regardless of what humans do.

As for Time, well Vladimir Putin is now a member of an exclusive club whose previous members include Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler. Personally I would not be particularly thrilled.

francine said:...over the last few years how the language has shifted from "global warming" to "climate change"?

It doesn't matter what name they use. Man-made CO2 is the major cause to "global warming", therefore the Bali conference for the "carbon rationing". Let's see how they twist it (man-made CO2) also is responsible to global cooling.

My bet is that they will conclude "Human is the cause for climate change!" We will have another conference (at a tropical locale) to announce enforced birth rations. That way they cover front, back, and sideways.

The general has saved thousands of lives, nearly destroyed al-Qaeda and turned an entire nation full circle in a matter of months, potentially influencing the course of events in the Arab world for many years to come.

I see Stalin's name on the list twice. I see Gorbechev's (I at in the same room with the man once, he visited the U I was teaching at, did not get to shake his hand or any such thing, still cool) on the list twice.

Putin's made it the first time in what obviously is going to be at least a two times appearance.

Yeah, it seems somewhat obvious Time's Man of the Year does not necessarily imply there is a goodness about their selection, but where are the mustard seeds? Surely Ronald Reagen, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II had something to do with truly monumental events? Gorbachev tried to prop up a corrupt and evil system and the mustard seeds sprang into a large tree and pushed it over.